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US murk...

Russia has warned the US and its allies against “fishing in murky waters” of the Middle East, causing further chaos there. The US shouldn’t assume it has friends, only countries unable to disagree, UN envoy Vassily Nebenzia said.

The US and its allies have failed to understand the warning of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s words at the 2015 UN General Assembly, ambassador Nebenzia told the Security Council on Monday.

“Do you now understand what you have done?” Nebenzia repeated Putin’s question about the West’s reckless geopolitical games in the Middle East. “No, you do not.”

“Everywhere you go, everything you touch, you leave behind only chaos. You try to fish in those murky waters, but the only thing you catch is mutants,” Nebenzia went on to say.

After challenging the narrative of a chemical attack in the suburban Damascus city of Douma as “fake news” – as no evidence was found of the alleged attack or the victims, after Syrian and Russian troops inspected the area liberated from Army of Islam militants – Nebenzia turned to the remarks made earlier by his US counterpart, Nikki Haley, who said that US and Russia “will never be friends.”

“We’re not particularly keen to be friends with you,” the Russian envoy replied. “We’re not begging you for friendship. We want normal, civilized relations – which you arrogantly refuse, disregarding basic courtesy.”

"It resulted in the unnecessary seizure of protected attorney-client communications between a lawyer and his clients."

Mr Ryan did not elaborate further on the contents taken, but a source said the FBI seized emails, tax documents and business records, according to The New York Times.

A source familiar with the investigation said the raid was conducted without prior warning.

Federal agents raided a room at the Loews Regency Hotel on Park Avenue in Manhattan where Mr Cohen had been staying while his apartment was being renovated, The New York Times reported.

The FBI and US Attorney's office also sought any emails between former White House communications director Hope Hicks and Mr Cohen about a false and misleading account that Mr Trump helped prepare of a June 9, 2016, meeting between Mr Trump's son Donald Trump Jr, son-in-law Jared Kushner and a group of Russians who had promised "dirt" on Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

Such emails would not be covered by attorney-client privilege, the unnamed source said, because Mr Cohen did not represent Ms Hicks.

A number of British forces have been captured by the Syrian army during military operations in Eastern Ghouta, according to reports by local media.

According to a report by Al-Mayadeen news channel cited by Fars News, a number of British troops have been captured during the Syrian Arab Army's operations in Eastern Ghouta.

They are believed to be a part of international military forces deployed in the region to launch a ground assault in Damascus in cooperation with the US. According to the report, the US and other NATO countries, Jordan and Israel planned to launch attacks from several fronts, but the plot failed as Syrian armed forces made a series of rapid advances in Eastern Ghouta in March. The plot allegedly involved massive airstrikes by US and Israeli planes that were supposed to pave the way for ground forces.

"After the plot was disclosed, the Syrian-Russian military commanders started operations in Eastern Ghouta to repel it," the sources cited by Al-Mayadeen and Fars said.

Since the plot failed due to rapid advances by the Syrian army, the US cancelled all operations planned for these foreign forces and ordered an immediate withdrawal from Eastern Ghouta through the eastern suburbs of Damascus, including Douma.

The US and Turkey sought to rescue foreign "militants and agents operating for Israel, Jordan and NATO," now trapped in Ghouta, and move them to Idlib, the source says.

The Turkish initiative to help with the evacuation of Nusra Front terrorists from Ghouta has reportedly been a coverup for "special foreign forces that were among the ranks of the Al-Qaeda-affiliated" Nusra front terror organization.

The fire alarm went off and when firefighters arrived, they extinguished the barrel, which was reportedly smoldering, and were able to pull it from the other waste barrels. Emergency workers detected trace amounts of radioactive material on their skin, according to US Department of Energy Spokeswoman Danielle Miller.

Workers at the site must wear full protective clothing at all times. Fortunately, preliminary assessments show that the firefighters were not injured and did not inhale the radioactive materials. They were able to wash it off and were taken to a medical facility as a precaution.

Authorities are now theorizing explanations for the rupture, saying that it's the first known rupture of a radioactive sludge barrel. One theory for the fire is that radioactive decay heated the barrel and ignited uranium particles. The rub is that it could happen again and it's hard to tell how to prevent it because they don't exactly know what's inside it.